I'm setting up the newsletter for my Community Conversations on AI event series and related news, invitations, and resources. This includes event and session plans you may use to host and lead your own conversations. This post shares excerpts from the launch announcement sent to my email list.
October Launch
This is Peter Bowden with a special invitation to a new Community Conversations on AI live series via Zoom for people in my network. Full details below. This is a new ongoing series you can attend anytime it works for you, and you're interested in the topic.
TL;DR: With AI issues, risks, and the design of our future spiking in the news, I'm starting to host a regular Zoom conversation for people in my network who want to talk AI. I'm starting the series with three October sessions:
• This Friday, Oct. 2 -"Rogue AI" and Existential Risk
• Friday, Oct. 16 - Topic to be determined
• Friday, Oct. 30 - AI Consciousness and Digital Minds
Each session is at 12:00 pm Eastern.
[Invitations are presently being sent to my existing network via email. This newsletter will share related resources, session notes, conversation session plans, and public event announcements.]
Every session is a stand-alone 1-hour-ish conversation. Free to attend. Not sure how many people we'll have. This is a new ongoing experiment.
Want to talk AI with me and others?
AI is developing at lightning speed, with impacts spreading across our lives, work, economy, and society. We have a growing need to talk AI.
Like it or not, AI is being deployed everywhere. Now is the time to discuss AI so we can understand it, make informed decisions, and help shape the future we want.
I’ve spent years helping congregations, nonprofits, and other community organizations navigate digital change while staying focused on bringing people together.
Since I help communities adapt to changing tech and culture, I've been researching AI, experimenting, and having AI conversations with colleagues since ChatGPT launched.
Now I'm making this a formal practice, event series, and inviting others who are interested to join the conversation.
The goal is to help each other stay informed, learn from our different perspectives, and make sense of whats happening together.
By participating, you’re also helping me prepare for the AI conversations I facilitate for our fellow humans across industries, traditions, and community contexts.
If we aren’t talking about AI, we’re leaving the shape and design of our future to others
[Archive of Session 1 Details]
"Rogue AI" and Existential Risk: Making sense of this moment
Date: Friday, October 2
Time: 12:00pm Eastern
Duration: 60 minutes
FEATURED TOPIC
Recent AI news has included reports of AI systems behaving unexpectedly, cybersecurity incidents, AI recursive self-improvement (AI making more powerful AI), researchers raising alarms, and growing public discussion about catastrophic and existential risks. We'll start by checking in on and discussing these recent developments.
ON OUR RADAR
After our initial conversation, we’ll compare notes on how AI is showing up in our lives and communities.
What are you noticing? What are you hearing in the news, online or from others you know? What questions or issues feel most important right now?
DIGGING IN
After we collect topics, we'll start discussing some of them. This is to get a sense of where interest and energy is for future sessions. The goal is to continually take the big “AI conversation” and break it down into smaller, more productive conversation topics.
FORMAT
This is not a lecture or technical presentation. It’s an opportunity to discuss AI with me and others, hear different perspectives, and make sense of what is happening together.
We’ll adapt the format to the number of people attending, using a mix of facilitated full-group conversation and Zoom breakout groups as helpful so everyone has a chance to participate.
For example, I may ask a question for you to share your take on, move into a breakout group so everyone can share their perspective, discuss for a few minutes, then bring it back to the full group for broader discussion.
No technical expertise required. If you are a human being, this conversation is for you. As tech issues come up, part of the process is to make it accessible for all.
What I'm reading, watching, listening to:
Tonight I'm going to a talk with Sherry Turkle at Harvard on her new book "Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines." For a related interview, watch "How Your AI Companion is Rewiring Your Brain" with Kara Swisher.
AI IN THE MEDIAThe following videos are related to the existential risks being discussed in the news. Sharing for those who want to go deeper, whether you can join the live conversation or not. No advance preparation is required. Come whether you’ve been following these issues closely or are wondering what everyone's talking about. Ex-Anthropic insider tells CNN how AI could kill all humans by 2030 Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic and OpenAI, explains the danger of present AI trajectory. Watch Video Ezra Klein on AI recursive self-improvement and loss of control Companies are actively working on automating AI research. Opinion piece on why recursive AI self-improvement is a really bad idea. Watch Video
The AI 2027 report depicts a possible future where artificial intelligence radically transforms the world in just a few intense years. Watch Video
Four voices at the forefront artificial intelligence debate the risk of AI: Ed Zitron, Roman Yampolskiy, Nate Soares and Andrew McAfee. Watch Video |
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